Method of and mechanism for adjusting the size of the opening in shoe uppers



g 1942. F. DE CURTIS ET AL 2,292,106

METHOD OF AND MECHANISM FOR ADJUSTING THE SIZE OF THE OPENING IN SHOE UPPERS Filed March 4, 1941 Patented Aug. 4, 1942 METHOD OF AND MECHANISM FOR ADJUST- ING THE SIZE OF THE OPENING IN SHOE UPPERS Frank De Curtis, Queens Village, and Felix De Vito, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application March 4, 1941, Serial No. 381,692

7 Claims.

This invention relates to a method of and mechanism for adjusting the uppers of shoes and more particularly to reducing the opening in womens low cut shoes such as pumps, step-ins, Oxfords and the like. The embodiment of the invention herein shown and described is for the same purpose as that described in our co-pending application Serial No. 359,206, filed October 1, 1940.

It is an object of the invention to provide a mechanism which can be conveniently and effectively operated to reduce the size of the opening in the uppers of womens shoes by shrinking and reshaping the heel portions of the quarters. As hereinafter described, this is done by supporting a shoe in position, gathering the upper portions of the quarters at and near the heel, then pressing the gathered portion of the upper so as to shrink and smooth it. By this method, shoes which nearly fit the feet of the wearer but are objectionably loose can be made to have a proper and satisfactory fit.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the description thereof which follows, and to the drawing of which Figure l is a side elevation of a mechanism embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a section on the line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary section on the line 44 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Figure 3.

The mechanism illustrated on the drawing comprises a fixed abutment member I0 having the approximate-shape of a U or horseshoe, this member being supported by three vertical standards l2, l4 and 16. The standards themselves are fixed on a suitable supporting surface 28. As indicated in Figure 3, the abutment member In is shaped to receive the rear portion of a shoe upper. Suitable holding devices may be employed to secure a shoe in position when it has been properly located with the rear upper portion of the quarters nested within the abutment member 16. To this end a vertically slidable bridge member 22 is mounted on the standards 14 and I6 and is pressed upward by suitable springs 24 and 26. The upper surface of the bridge member 22 is shaped to engage the arch of a shoe transversely and to press the shoe up A pair of setscrews 28 are provided on the bridge member to secure this member in any position of adjustment on the standards I4 and I6. The bridge member also supports a central sleeve 30 which projects therethrough and within which is slidably mounted a plunger 32. A spring 34 on the rear portion of the plunger presses the plunger rearwardly and is adapted to push a tip 36 against the breast of the heel of a shoe mounted on the bridge 22. The pressure of the spring 34 may be augmented by manual pressure on a finger-piece 38 mounted on the forward end of the plunger 32. The plunger may be secured in any position of adjustment by means of a setscrew 40 which is threaded through the wall of the sleeve 30.

Nested within the bend of the abutment mem her I!) is a crescent shaped leather piece or pusher 42 which is adapted to be moved forward against the top portion of the shoe upper at the heel. As indicated in Figure 5, this pusher is mounted on the forward end of a suitable plunger 44 which projects slidably through an upstanding boss 46 integral with the abutment member 10.

Within the space between the arms of the abutment member ID is a pressing device comprising two presser elements 59 and 52. These elements are supported by a rotatable stem 54 which has right and left hand screw-threaded portions near its end with wedge elements 56 and 53 screw-threaded thereon as indicated in Figure 2. The stem 54 projects through a supporting bracket 60 and is provided with a finger wheel 62 at the upper end thereof by which it can be conveniently rotated in either direction. Rotation of the stem causes the wedge blocks 55 and 53 to move toward or away from each other. When the wedge blocks are moved toward each other, they spread the presser elements and 52 apart, causing them to move horizontally toward the opposing surfaces of the abutment member l0 as hereinafter described. When the stem 54 is rotated to move the wedge blocks away from each other, the presser elements 56 and 52 are pulled toward each other by suitable tension springs 64 and 65 shown in Figure 3 near the ends of the presser elements. Each of the presser elements is preferably provided with an electric heating unit 66, these heating units being preferably mounted near the ends of the pressure units.

Also supporting the pressure units is apparatus shown in Figure 4, this apparatus comprising a into the space within the abutment member I0. horizontal rod 76 projecting through a pair of upstanding ears 1.2 and 14 on the presser units. The rod Ill also passes through the head 80 of a stem 82 which is parallel to the plunger 44 and is arranged above it, the stem 82 projecting through the boss 45 as shown in Figure 5. A spring 83 is provided on this stem to press it forward. The rear portion of the stem 82 is screw-threaded. Threaded on this portion of the stem is an elongated nut 84 having a knurled finger portion 86 by which it can be readily rotated. A setscrew 88 is mounted on the boss 46 and is adapted to bind the stem 82 in any position of axial movement. A plate 90 is slidably mounted on the stem 82 and plunger 44 and bears against the front end of the nut 84. A stop element 9| is mounted on the plunger 44 to limit the relative forward movement of the plate 90 thereon. On the portion of the plunger between the plate 90 and boss 48 a compression spring 92 is provided, this spring serving to press the plate 96 and the nut 84 rearwardly. As indicated in Figure l, a suitable setscrew 94 is provided to secure the plunger 43 in any position of axial adjustment.

The ends of the rod iii slide in a pair of guide members 96 and 98 which are mounted on the abutment member ill or are a part of the bracket 60. The arms of the abutment member ID may be covered by pieces of soft leather N30 to provide suitable surfaces for engagement by the quarters of the shoes mounted in the apparatus.

The operation of the mechanism is as follows: The bridge '22 is manually depressed to permit the introduction of a shoe into the position for operation. The bridge is then moved up against the arch of the shoe to press the rear portions of the quarters snugly against the arms of the abutment member Hi. The setscrews 28 and M] are then set up to secure the bridge 22 and plunger 32 in position. This maintains the shoe in its proper position until it is subsequently released after treatment. It is assumed that at this time .the nut 83 has been backed off toward the extreme end of the stem 82 so that the presser elements 55! and 52 are in a forward position and the plunger 42 is in a rearward position. The setscrew 88 is set up to bind the stem 82 and the nut 84 is 1'0- tated to push the pusher 42 forward against the heel end of the shoe upper. In order to provide for uniform treatment of both shoes of a pair, the amount of such forward pressing movement of the pusher 52 may be observed by means-of an index i8 3 which cooperates with a suitable scale I08, the latter being mounted conveniently on the abutment member if). The pusher presses against the top portion of the upper at the heel and pushes this portion forwardly causing adjacent portions of the top edge of the upper to wrinkle somewhat. When the pusher has been moved forward a sufiicient amount, the setscrew at is set up to secure the pusher in its forwardly adjusted position. The setscrew 88 is then backed off to free the stem 32. Further rotation of the nut 84 pulls the stem 82 rearwardly and this moves the presser elements 58 and 52 rearwardly asindicated in Figure 5. Thismovement is continued until the elements 5!! and 52 press tightly against the inner surface of the quarters so as to flatten the wrinkles which were previously formed by the forward movement of the pusher 42. This portion of the upper is tightly clamped between the presser elements 50 and 52 within and the opposing surfaces of the abutment member l0 and the pusher d2 without. The presser elements'tiil and 52 are preferably heated so that these portions of the quarters are permanently shrunk as desired. After one shoe of a pair has been treated, the other shoe is subjected to a similar treatment, uniformity of such treatment being facilitated by observing the scale I86.

It is evident that various modifications and changes may be made in the embodiments of the invention herein shown and described without departing from the spirit or scope thereof as defined in the following claims.

We claim:

1. Mechanism of the class described, comprising a U-shaped abutment member having inner surfaces adapted to be engaged by the top portions of a shoe upper near the heel end, a pusher element nested in the bend of the abutment member and adapted to engage the top portion of a shoe upper at the heel end thereof, means for holding a shoe in position with top portions of its upper against said abutment member, means for moving said pusher forward against the back of the upper of said shoe, presser means within said abutment member, and means for moving said presser means rearwardly to press against said pusher the portion of the shoe upper engaged thereby.

2. Mechanism of the class described, comprising a U-shaped abutment member having inner surfaces adapted to be engaged by the top portions of a shoe upper near the heel end, a pusher element nested in the bend of the abutment member and adapted to engage the top portion of a shoe upper at the heel end thereof, means for holding a shoe in position with top portions of its upper against said abutment member, means for moving said pusher forward against the back of the upper of said shoe, a pair of presser elements within said abutment member, means for moving said presser elements as a unit toward said pusher, and means for moving said presser elements away from each other and toward the opposing surfaces of said abutment element.

3. Mechanism of the class described, comprising a U-shaped abutment member having inner surfaces adapted to be engaged by the top portions of a shoe upper near the heel end, a pusher element nested in the bend of the abutment member and adapted to engage the top portion of a shoe upper at the heel end thereof, means for holding a shoe in position with top portions of it upper against said abutment member, means for moving said pusher forward against the back of the upper of said shoe, a pair of presser elements within said abutment member, means for moving said presser elements as a unit toward said pusher, wedging means between said presser elements, and means for actuating said wedging means to force the presser elements toward the respectively adjacent portions of said abutment member.

4. Mechanism of the class described, comprising a U-shaped abutment member having arms with inner faces adapted to be engaged by top portions of a shoe upper, means for supporting said abutment member in fixed position, said supporting means comprising a rear standard at the bend of the U and a pair of front standards near the forward ends of said arms, a bridge member vertically slidable on said front standards to engage the arch of a shoe within the abutment member, means for securing a bridge member in adjusted position, an adjustable plunger carried by said bridge member to engage the heel breast of said shoe, a pusher within the bend of said abutment member, means for moving said pusher forward against the top "portion of the upper at the heel end, and a presser within said abutment member movable to press against the abutment member and pusher element the portion of the shoe upper engaged thereby.

5. Mechanism of the class described, comprising a U-shaped abutment member adapted to receive the top rear portion of a shoe upper, a pusher element Within the bend of the abutment member, presser means between the areas of the abutment member, and means for moving said pusher element and presser means toward each other, said moving means comprising a boss on the abutment member, a screw-threaded stem secured to said presser means and extending rearwardly therefrom through said boss, a nut threaded on the rear end portion of said stem, a plunger secured to and extending rearwardly from said pusher element through said boss, a plate slidably mounted on said stem and plunger, said plate bearing against the forward end of said nut, and a stop on said plunger limiting the forward movement of said plate relative thereto.

6. Mechanism of the class described, comprising a pair of elongated rearwardly converging members, means for supporting said members in rigidly spaced relation to be engaged by substantial marginal portions of the upper of a shoe mounted between them, a pusher element movable forward between the rear end portions of said members, said pusher element having a concave face adapted to engage the heel end of the upper near the top edge thereof, rearwardly tapering presser means between said members, and means for forcing said presser means rearward- 1y to press the upper of said shoe against said member and said pusher element.

7. A method of adjusting the size of a shoe, which comprises mounting a shoe with top portions of the upper between fixed abutment elements, pushing the top portion of the upper at the heel end forwardly to gather such portion of the upper, and squeezing the gathered portion of the upper between inner and outer pressing elements to flatten and shrink the gathered portion.

FRANK DE CURTIS. FELIX DE VITO. 

